Tragic Kingdom
by CSI1983
Summary: After three little girls show up dead, Catherine finds herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the case. WCR
1. Chapter 1

_A/N - This is one of my most recent stories.I am only half way through butI like it so far. The hardest part was getting into the sicko's head. That was and still is the hardest part of it._

**Tragic Kingdom**

Chapter One - Just a Girl

He had always liked walking in this area outside of his home. The ground rose and fell as if the earth itself was breathing and the sturdy trees that sometimes littered the Nevada desert provided him with the perfect shade when the sun got too much. He liked to walk his dog here and together they often found treasures, like the sheep skull that they had found the other week. He had polished it up until the bone again was white and shipped it up coast to where his eldest son was majoring in the study of bones. He always forgot what the name for it was. The man snapped out of his thoughts when an excited bark reached his ears. He half ran half walked to where the dog was digging at the hard sand furiously, his tail going hard as he wagged it side to side. The man knelt beside the dog and helped dig with his hands. He paused when he felt something soft brush against his fingers, letting the dog finish what he started. When he saw what they had unearthed, the man pulled the dog back by the collar, commanding him to sit. The bent broken body of a little black girl was in the shallow hole that they had just uncovered, the man's mind was turning as he pulled out his cell phone. He had heard in the news about another little black girl that had been found ten miles south from here, he hoped that this was a different case. He didn't want another family to suffer.

Jim Brass sighed heavily as he waited for Gil Grissom and his team to show up to process this particularly heinous crime. He had seen some things in his time, but Jim Brass still felt the anger curse through his veins when it came to crimes against children. As a father himself, he never wanted to grow accustomed to them.

Brass was unnerved with how this certain killer was getting away with doing so much and leaving them so little to go on. One thing he was grateful for was the fact that the best people to do the job where just pulling up. Only Catherine Willows, blonde/red hair blowing in the slightly breeze and Gil Grissom hopped out of the now parked truck, cases in hand they headed straight to Brass.

"We got another one guys. He struck again."

Brass pointed to the little naked girl that was now lying in the open thanks to the man who found her and what little breeze they had. He heard Catherine give a little sigh as she pulled her hair back in a rubber band. Brass knew it was hard on her as well; these child cases hurt anyone with kids.

"Did the guy who found her notice anything unusual?"

Brass shook his head.

"Nothing. His dog obviously caught the scent and started digging. She looks almost exactly like little Ruby."

Sadly enough, the little girl that was found two weeks previously had never been reported missing or had even been claimed. The police officers that had helped process the scene and helped with the case christened her Ruby after the motel that she was just up the road from. The Las Vegas police department had also footed the bill for a proper burial for the little girl. Whoever had killed her had abused her for weeks, beating her and raping her before finally strangling her to death and disposing of the body in the desert.

"I hope that she's nothing like Ruby. No kid should have to go through that."

Catherine went to kneel beside Grissom under the crime tape, examining the body with practised eyes. The little girl was curled into a tight ball, her hand and feet tied with little stripes of plastic. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open ever so slightly. She was completely naked. Catherine began taking photographs, zooming in and out to get every angle of the body that she could. As the paramedics came over Catherine talked to them in a low voice.

"Hey guys, we may have another Ruby here. Treat her carefully ok?"

The paramedics nodded gravely and carefully picked her up out of her sand prison, laying her gently into a new body bag. Catherine watched as they drove away, and then satisfied that they were on their way to see Doc Robbins, Catherine turned her attention back to the hole. Grissom had just finished taking photos when Catherine spotted something in her torch light. She picked up her long tweezers out of her field kit and picked up the object. It was a large white pearl. She couldn't be sure if it was a real one or a fake but it was the best lead they had.

"What was she doing with a pearl?"

Catherine offered Grissom a quick shrug before setting about trying to find some more evidence. After an hour, she threw up her hands.

"Again a big fat nothing. How can that guy leave nothing?"

Grissom held up the mini evidence bag that contained the small white pearl.

"We have a pearl. Maybe the little girl could give us something more."

Catherine nodded as she watched Grissom pack up his kit, before following suit. They had a lot to do before the shift ended.

Catherine turned over for what felt like the hundredth time that night. For the life of her, she could not hold still long enough for sleep to take her away. A warm arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to the centre of the bed made a wave of guilt wash over her. She had woken him up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up"

Warrick's breath was hot against the skin of her neck where he was kissing the soft flesh, making her toes tingle.

"That's ok. I'm not that tired anyway. What's up with all the moving?"

Catherine sighed and turned herself over to face Warrick, his arm still keeping its place around her waist.

"This case is bugging me. What if we have another Ruby?"

Warrick shrugged, his head leaning on his arm that was now resting on the pillow.

"Then we deal with it. We'll catch him and he'll go to prison for what he's been doing."

Catherine sighed.

"I know that. You know what scares me? What if these girl's aren't his first? What if they are by no means his last? What if there are more little girls just waiting to be found?"

Warrick saw the fear and genuine concern in her blue eyes and wondered, not for the first time, if he should talk to Grissom about Catherine being on this case. It was causing her sleepless nights and clouding her normally impeccable judgement. He was worried for her. Catherine's eyes narrowed as she read the concern in his eyes.

"I'm not getting off this case. I'm staying on it until this bastard is caught and I'm not letting you convince me otherwise."

Catherine locked eyes with his, offering him a challenge that he knew he would never accept. Catherine knew what her limit was only she could decide when it was time to stop. Warrick said nothing, just pulled her closer to his chest.

"Try to get some sleep."

He began to stroke her hair and only stopped when her breathing had deepened to one of sleep. He was now wide awake and too worried about Catherine to let sleep take him again. Catherine was letting this case get to her and when that happened, it did more then just affected her. It affected the whole team.

Sara Sidle had decided to stand in on the autopsy of little girl that they had found, just as she had done with Ruby. Everyone involved in that Ruby case had put money forward to put the little girl to rest and Sara wanted to see if this was going to be a repeat on the horrible events. If it was, then this guy was turning into a serial child killer. Doc Robbins moved the white sheet down the little body slightly.

"Same as Ruby I'm afraid. She was strangled. But this is where things get interesting. She was strangled with a pearl necklace."

Sara's eyebrows jumped to her hairline.

"What?"

Doc showed Sara the pearl that Grissom had found.

"She had this under her body. I think your killer killed her with a necklace. Look at the pocket marks on her skin. Circular and all of varying shapes like on a string of pearls."

Sara did look closer and was surprised just by how clearly the shapes stood out.

"That's sick. What else can you tell me?"

Doc shrugged.

"Identical to Ruby in every way. Beaten and raped repeatedly before she was finally strangled."

Sara sighed.

"Why would someone do this? Keep these little girls as punching bags and sex slaves, what's the point?"

Doc shrugged as he pushed the little body back into the fridge.

"That my dear, is your job. I think their giving it a week before they start a collection for this little one too. They're calling her Pearl"

Sara nodded as she left the room. They needed to find their monster, and soon.

It was a long week; no movement was made on the case. Catherine continued having trouble sleeping, and little Pearl was buried next to Ruby. And the CSI's sat on their thumbs as they did the only thing they could do. Wait. They had to wait for him to slip up. A mistake is all they needed. They were all sitting in sad silence in the break room, Catherine asleep on Warrick's shoulder when Grissom's cell phone began frantically buzzing. The rest of the team sat in silent anticipation as they listened to his side of the very brief conversation. He clicked his phone shut.

"Wake up Cath. A little girl escaped from our mystery man."

The little girl had pretty dark skin, wide scared eyes and long tangled black hair. When LVPD had found her wondering the side of the road, she had been wearing a nightgown stained with blood and dirt. She had been quickly changed into clean clothes and now she sat small and tiny after her hospital examination. She took it bravely, refusing to cry when they did the internal examination, thanking the nurses as they took her blood and checked her general health. She hadn't spoken since the hospital and Grissom was trying to toss up who to send in. Sara didn't think she was good with kids but she had some success in that department recently, and as a mother, Catherine seemed to be a logical choice but his gut was telling him to send in Greg. He wasn't intimidating, he had an easy going essence about him and kids were good at reading people. Greg was their safest choice.

"Greg I want you to go in there and get the girl to talk."

Greg was about to protest and Grissom silenced him with a hand.

"She doesn't need to feel threatened. You're as safe as they come so you are our best bet."

Greg nodded and gave Grissom a grin.

"I'll be back in five minutes."

And he left the room, Grissom in slight surprise. Greg did that often.

"Do you really think she'll tell Greg what we need to know?"

Grissom nodded as he watched the girl through the glass as he answered Catherine's question.

"Yes I do. No offence to you Catherine, but she needs a friendly face. And that's Greg down to a tee. This girl seems smart; she knows that not all men are like our killer. She'll see a friend in Greg, not foe."

Catherine shifted slightly behind Grissom.

"None taken and I agree. Greg would be a welcome sight after the horrors she could have seen."

Greg burst back into the room, the undeniable smell of hot pizza surrounding him. He held the box in one hand and two sodas' in the other. Meeting the rest of the team's confused gaze, he smiled.

"This girl needs to eat."

Grissom opened the door for him without question and watched Greg saunter into the room, the very definition of causal. Grissom shut the door and focused on how Greg did. He was now sitting across from the girl and offered her a soda.

"So what do you want? Sprite or Coke?"

The girl pointed to the coke and Greg slid the can over the table before placing the pizza between them. The girl eyed it up hungrily and only picked up a slice when Greg took one.

"I'm Greg by the way. Do you have a name?"

The girl nodded through her mouthful of food, and despite her hunger, she waited until her mouth was empty before answering.

"My name is Eden."

The girl's accent was strange, kind of Asian and Greg picked up on it easily.

"Eden. That is a beautiful name. So where are you from?"

Eden took a deep swallow of soda before answering.

"Manila, in the Philippines."

Greg allowed the silence to lapse, giving the girl a chance to eat her fill before beginning the questions again.

"How did you come to end up here, in Las Vegas?"

Eden started to pull at the cardboard of the now empty pizza box.

"He killed my parents. The man in the mask killed my parents and brought me here."

Greg looked at the girl as she stared coldly at the box. She was beyond tears; there was nothing left in her anymore. It made Greg's heart break that she was like that.

"Eden, do you know anything about the law?"

Eden looked at Greg with interest, a frown wrinkling her smooth dark skin.

"What do you mean?"

Greg smiled at her.

"Like when someone does something bad they get arrested and put away for a long time? Do you know that?"

Eden nodded.

"But it's not always true is it? The man who hurt me is still out there."

Greg nodded, leaning a little closer to the girl.

"That's why we need you. My friends and I are trying to find another man but we think he might have hurt you too. We need you to tell us everything you can so that we can catch him."

Eden looked at Greg, curiosity all over her face.

"What do you think he did?"

Greg took a second to weigh up his options. He could tell her and break the case or keep it quite and lose her.

"He killed two other girls. He hurt them very badly first. Do you know anything about that?"

Eden smiled a little bitter smile.

"Alexis and Ivy were my friends. They were taken by the man at the same time I was. He didn't kill their parents like he killed mine. He said that he would bring them here and take them to good schools and educate them to be doctors or lawyers. My parents said that I was fine where I was and he shot them. I had their blood on me when I left my house."

Greg put a hand over Eden's and she clutched it tightly.

"Where were you taken to?"

Eden shrugged.

"We were blindfolded and taken into a large dark room. It was cold there and a few of the other girls got sick. The man in the mask took them away and they never came back. Ivy bit him and he took her away too. Then Alexis tried to escape and he killed her too. I know he killed them all. He smelt like death."

Eden's face was dark and her slim fingers kept their crushing grip on Greg's.

"Eden, how many other girls' were there with you?"

Greg watched as Eden did a quick mental calculation.

"Twelve in total. Nine now that Ivy, Alexis and I have gone."

Greg tired to cover his horror and smiled at Eden again.

"Are you doing ok? Tell me if these questions get too much ok?"

Eden nodded, and when she didn't pass comment, Greg pushed on.

"How did you escape?"

Eden froze her yes wide with fear.

"I don't remember too well. The man had gone out and he had left the door to the room open. I thought it was a trick at first and so I waited for him to come back. After an hour, I knew that he had forgotten. I ran. I didn't see anything, hear anything or know anything except the running. That's all I could do. I ran for a few hours, until my legs gave out from under me and then I walked. I kept to the bushes and high trees, I didn't know where I was and I was worried he might see me at any time. Them I saw the police car and I knew I would be safe."

Eden was exhausted. Her shoulders were slumped forward and her eyes were beginning to droop.

"Hey Eden, do you want to get some sleep?"

Eden nodded.

"Do you want me to carry you?"

Eden nodded again. Greg went around to the other side of the table and scooped her up easily and carried her out of the interview room. He meet Grissom's approving gaze.

"Where should I take her? Your office or the break room?"

"My office but you will need to stay with her. She'll be confused and scared by her very different surrounding. Read a book or something but stay with her ok Greg?"

Greg nodded and moved towards Grissom's office, gently laying Eden on the couch. She was already fast asleep and Greg covered her with a blanket and took off her shoes before settling himself behind Grissom's desk. Greg felt proud of himself. His interview had been a huge success and hopefully Eden's statement will help them find the other girls that were stuck in the dark room that Eden had described. For now Greg was happy that at least she was in the safest hands possible.

_**The man viewed his latest treasures, smiling to himself. They mixed in with the others, frightened by their new surroundings, looking at him with wide eyes. In doing that they gave all that he wanted, absolute control and order. He continued to watch, moving more into the shadows so that they felt he had left them alone. He knew that he had to be much more careful after Eden escaped and he could hardly believe that the smallest was also the bravest. She would have been picked up by the police but he had covered his tracks well. He never had sex with them without a condom and when he disposed of them, he was careful to use gloves. His eyes roamed over the young bodies in front of him and he could feel the blood beginning to pump harder through his veins. He could smell the fear rolling off of them, the absolute confusion and the need to escape. Unfortunately they tended to follow the same pattern. When he had started importing these girls, he had expected the spirits to break much easier then they did. After they got over their initial fear, which generally took two or three months, they started to fight back. So he did the only thing a logical man could do. He disposed of them. He knew that this would seem callous to most people but these girls meant nothing to him and never will. **_

_**He watched and did what he did every night, picking through them one by one until he had decided which one would go to bed with him. Maybe one of the newer ones was finally ready to experience all that America had to offer.**_

Sara felt sick to her stomach as she listened to Eden tell Greg exactly what 'The Man in the Mask' had done to her. After her sleep in Grissom's office, Eden seemed much more prepared to open up but she had insisted that Greg be with her. A child psychologist was in the room with them but Eden seemed much more comfortable talking directly to Greg. The words were horrifying to hear, but Eden seemed to have accepted that this had all happened to her. She was beyond tears, and Sara was certain that there was no denial there, just pure acceptance. Sara was still trying to get stomach out of her throat when Catherine came and stood next to her in the viewing room and Sara felt a stab of concern for her team mate. She could see the effect that this case was taking on Catherine, saw the fight just about fall out of the woman that seemed to be endlessly strong.

"Catherine are you sure you should be here? Some of things she's saying are hard to hear."

Catherine nodded, her look determined.

"You know what it's like Sara. I need to see this to the end. If I don't, it will be harder on me and anyone who is in breathing distance."

Catherine granted Sara a small tight smile.

"But thank you for your concern."

Sara nodded and let the topic fall and turned her attention back to Eden who was telling more horror stories in great detail.

"What has she told them so far?"

Sara shuddered.

"Are you sure you want to know? Ignorance is bliss in this case."

Catherine nodded her head hard.

"He kept them in a cold dark room, we knew that already, but at night he would choose one or more to join him in the bed for the night."

Catherine frowned.

"How old is Eden?"

"Twelve. She said that the other girls there were her age or younger. The youngest one that was there was nine. He's just plucking these girls away from their families, killing them if necessary. We're not dealing with a man; we're dealing with a monster. A child rapist and killer."

Catherine crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

"But why get them from the Philippines? There are plenty of places in the US that have kids like that."

"It's the exchange rate over there. It's probably cheaper to pay off the parents there and they would trust a rich American."

Catherine said nothing, her eyes trained on Eden. She looked a lot better after her sleep and shower. Catherine had brought in some of Lindsey's old clothes from her house, the blue jeans and pink sweater hanging off her incredibly thin frame. She had eaten ravenously, the pizza that Greg had provided earlier long forgotten. Catherine had almost forgotten just how much Lindsey had eaten when she went through her growth spurt at that age, but after seeing Eden put so much away in her tiny frame, she remembered all too clearly.

"Has she given us a description?"

Sara nodded a frown creasing her forehead.

"Yes but its a little odd. Even when he was talking to her parents, she was kept in her room, so she never got to see him clearly. And when he came back later that night, he was wearing a mask. He shot her parents and dragged her out of the house. What little she can give us in the mask and his voice; he also has a tattoo on his inner thigh."

Sara saw a small shudder go through Catherine's slim body.

"What of?"

"A snake."

Catherine smirked.

"How appropriate. What about the mask? Was there anything unusual or distinctive about it?"

Sara smiled slightly.

"Would you believe it was The Hypnic man mask?"

Catherine frowned.

"The what now?"

"In the eighties they tried to release this new comic book character but it never got off the ground. The Hypnic Man was that character."

"And what were his powers?"

Sara glanced at the piece of paper she pulled out of her pocket.

"According to a web site, the power to control anything that had a pulse. So maybe this guy has a delusion of grandeur."

Catherine made a small facial shrug.

"Surely there can't be too many of those masks around, especially if it died out in the eighties."

Sara nodded.

"I went on the website and only two hundred of them were ever sold in the US."

Catherine nodded.

"Ok then. You narrow those down and I get to try and ring Alexis and Ivy's parents."

Sara looked sadly at Eden.

"What about Eden? What happens to her after all this?"

Catherine shrugged.

"She'll either go into the system here or they'll find her some Aunt's and Uncles over in Manilla."

Sara nodded and turned to leave the room, the list in her hand would keep her out of trouble for a few hours and she needed to get to work. When Catherine didn't make a move, Sara turned back.

"Hey Cath, you ok?"

"I will be when this guy is behind bars. Either that or dead. I think I'll stay here a little longer. I'll check up with you later ok?"

Catherine turned back to the glass, her forehead resting against the cool surface and Sara closed the door quietly behind her, her mind shifting from its current course. She needed to find Warrick.

Sara was about to give up when she checked in Grissom's office and found the two men in deep discussion.

"Hey guys. Am I interrupting something?"

Warrick shook his head.

"Not if you can keep a secret. Shut the door behind you."

Sara did as she was told before taking a seat next to Warrick, glancing between the two men.

"What's up?"

Warrick turned on his mega watt grin and opened a silk box in Sara's face. Nestled inside was a perfect circle diamond embedded in a gold band.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Warrick nodded, his smile getting wider.

"I want to ask Catherine to marry me."

Sara let out a little squeal and threw herself into Warrick's arms, giving him a tight hug before returning to her seat.

"That's great! Congratulations! When are you going to ask her?"

And with that Warrick's smile began to fade.

"That's what I was talking to Grissom about. Catherine's starting to get really hurt by this case. I'm really concerned for her. It's been almost a month since she's had good nights sleep."

Sara raised her eyebrows and Warrick looked at the floor.

"I moved in with her about the time this case started, that's how I know Sidle. Now back to the topic at hand, we were just trying to figure out a solution."

Sara shook her head.

"I think the only solution is catching this guy. She seems pretty determined that that will be the only thing that gets her off this."

Warrick shook his head hard.

"That's not going to work. She's killing herself over this. I found her just standing, crying in the shower the other night. I have never seen her like this with any other case and it scares me."

Sara put a hand on Warrick's arm as he broke down before exchanginga worried look with Grissom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Deep and Meaningless

Catherine needed to escape and when she had finished her shift she didn't go directly home. She knew Warrick was worried about her, knew that when she got home he would be wanting to talk to her about the situation. She loved Warrick, she really did, with all her heart but it didn't make admitting her vulnerability any easier. She hated it when this affected her to the point when others saw it so clearly. She found the old strip of road she had used many times before when she had needed to blow off steam. It was an abandoned strip of road that was full of curves and turns. It was perfect and it always made her feel better. Catherine slammed her foot on the accelerator and swung the wheel back and forth, following the road with practised ease, dust getting into her hair and face, the hard sting making her feel a little better, more human. She let the tears fall down her face, let them burn her already stinging cheeks, trying to gulp in air. She slammed on the brakes as she came to rest at the end of the road, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

When Catherine walked in the door, a good two hours later then she had told Warrick, she found him asleep on the sofa, a magazine open on his chest. He had tried to wait up for her, just as she knew he would. Catherine gave a loud sigh and removed her shoes, wriggling her toes in the deep carpet that she had had installed a soon as Lindsey was old enough to not ruin it, the rough fabric caressing between her toes. She needed a long hot shower, something to eat and with a bit of luck, sleep. Catherine stripped off as she headed to the bathroom and turned on the shower before wondering naked into her and Warrick's bedroom as she took Warrick's old shirt that she wore to bed and some clean towels before wondering back into the steamed up bathroom. She didn't care that the shower was searing her skin, didn't care that her breath was coming in short gasps from her body's shock from the heat. She scrubbed herself raw, washed her hair and turned off the shower, remaining in the tub as she watched the water drip off her hair. She could see their faces in her mind's eyes. Little Ruby with her high cheekbones and pretty mouth and little Pearl with her round innocent face. Then there was Eden. Catherine felt so fake in her bravery when she saw little Eden's. She had lived through so much in her short twelve years and in no way was she bitter. She just kept on trucking, managing to escape from a vicious killer and still maintain her dignity. Catherine felt her anger returning and fill her from the souls of her feet to the roots of her hair. It would be the only thing that would ever keep her going. She dried herself off and slipped into the shirt, Warrick's smell wrapping itself around her, making her feel a little calmer. She quickly cleaned up the bathroom and headed back into the kitchen, the cool air on her bare legs covering them in goose bumps as it hit the still damp skin.

"You're home. When did you get in?"

Warrick's voice was thick with sleep as he stood and stretched, his face concerned.

"About twenty minutes ago. I was about to grab something to eat before I headed to bed. Want anything?"

Warrick shook his head as he came to stand beside her.

"We need to talk Cath."

Catherine smiled a little.

"Last time I heard that, Eddie told me about his affair. Are you having an affair?"

Warrick stayed serious, something Catherine was hoping would not happen. She had been side stepping this up and coming talk for the last month and it looked like D-day was finally here.

"Seriously Cath, sit down."

Catherine abandoned her search for food, her hunger gone. She sat on the sofa, not quite able to make herself comfortable. It took her more then a few minutes before she could face Warrick's hard, concerned gaze.

"I was going to ask Grissom to take you off the case today."

Catherine opened her mouth to protest but Warrick silenced her with a hand in the air.

"But Sara pointed out that that would do no good and I unwillingly agreed. I know how deep you are in this case Cath, and I understand that. What I don't understand is that we've been together for months now and you still can't open that part of yourself to me."

Catherine played with the ends of the shirt.

"It's because that's the dark part of me I don't want anyone to see. Unfortunately, I seemed to have fallen into it and now I'm having trouble getting out."

Warrick came to sit beside her.

"What do you mean?"

Catherine shrugged.

"I want to kill him. I want to hurt him so badly for what he has done to those girls. I'm scared of that part of me."

Warrick nodded.

"I understand that but what else? There's something else I can feel it."

Catherine took a deep breath.

"When I sleep, I see the girl's faces, their bodies and I can picture what he has done to them. I can see how they died, see their last breaths, could hear them begging for their life. I can hear them Warrick, every single one. I can't take it anymore, I really can't. Make it stop Warrick, please make it stop!"

Catherine started to sob hard, the tears rushing down her cheeks and she collapsed on Warrick's chest, what little strength she had now gone completely. All she had was the tears and the pain. The never ending burning black pain.

Greg was on babysitting duty and he didn't mind at all. Social services had been in and had tried to take Eden away but she had freaked out and clung to Greg and so they decided to leave her with them for the moment. So while he did his work, Eden sat beside him watching every move he made, asking him questions on what he was doing and was surprisingly smart and funny.

"How are you going to catch him?"

Greg popped up from behind his microscope.

"Who?"

"The man in the mask. How are you going to catch him?"

Greg swivelled his chair around to face Eden's dark enquiring eyes.

"You know that mask he was wearing?"

Eden nodded.

"Well, there are only two hundred of those in America and so we go through a process of elimination. You know what that means?"

Eden nodded, giving Greg a bright smile.

"Ok. Will I be meeting anymore of your friends?"

She had met Catherine and Nick but none of the others. Grissom didn't want to overwhelm her with too many people. Greg liked that Grissom trusted him with this precious little person. She was the only one that could help them crack this case. The only one that could save the other little girls from the same fate as Alexis and Ivy.

"Maybe later. Do you want to help me with this?"

Greg moved aside and let Eden examine the DNA sample he had under the microscope, wondering not for the first time, where this girl got her courage from.

Sara rubbed her eyes hard with the balls of her hands, blinking a few times to refocus her eyes on the computer screen. It was getting later and later, and every minute her eyes got heavier, her fingers felt like lead as they moved over the keyboard. Out of the two hundred masks she had only eliminated three in the last six hours. Not only were they not willing to reveal their identities online, the owners obviously thought that she was interested in buying and when she explained she wasn't, they left. She would have to track each one down and that would take days, maybe even weeks with the rate that the police force was going. By the time there was anything to go on, the man could have killed again. It did narrow it down that they were looking for someone with a tattoo but they were out of luck with getting a warrant for that.

"How's it going?"

Grissom was at her side, a large coffee and cheese scone in his hands.

"Sucky. If you say those are for me, I'll love you forever."

Grissom laughed as he gave them to Sara, watching a she wolfed down the scone and attacked the coffee with vigour.

"So as it stands, there's not much to go on. I can't seem to track any of these guys down. I can't even pretend that I'm a buyer because they would just ship it and at the prices these guys are charging, it would blow our entire budget for gadgets."

Grissom watched as Sara clicked a few keys and pictures of men flew onto the screen.

"These men all live local but I have no idea of the addresses. They just happened to mention it is all. What now Griss? Where should I go with this?"

Grissom narrowed his eyes.

"Try and get names then we can track them down through Brass. We need to find this guy before we find another body."

_**The man kept his hands around the girl's slim throat, watching the life leave her body. He left her hands tied and put her into the back of his car, the shower curtain tucking neatly behind her. He would take her somewhere else this time. Maybe he wouldn't bury her at all. Maybe he would just dump her like the garbage she was. He worked himself up till he was totally convinced that that would be the best thing to do. He drove behind a diner and quickly threw her into one of the large bins, pulling the shower curtain free at the same time. He knew that someone would find her but he was not overly worried. How could he be when his plans were always perfect, including this one. He had yet to find a flaw and in his job he had to be good at finding them or his clients would lose out. He had to think ahead. He had to make more money then anyone else or he would be out on his ass and that would be the end to his trips and to his girls.**_

Grissom watched as Catherine bent over another body. This one had been found by some school kids in a dumpster behind a local diner. Watched as she gave a little sigh, her latex hand gently touching the little girl's cheek.

"I wonder how long he's been doing this."

Grissom didn't answer the quite musing, choosing instead to jump into the dumpster, to search for an allusive clue that they so desperately needed. He found some small fibres and a piece of what looked like plastic. He put a 911 on it before coming to stand next to Catherine, who was watching the small body being carefully loaded into the coroners van.

"We'll have to get Eden to ID her. Warrick told me what happened and how he asked for me to be removed."

Catherine kept her eyes on the van as it drove away, her voice cold. Grissom nodded.

"He's a good guy Cath, he was concerned."

Catherine nodded, her eyes now on the horizon where the van had faded from sight.

"I know and I appreciate the concern but I can't pull away from this Grissom. You know that."

Grissom nodded.

"I know but Warrick's different from you. He sees how much this is hurting you and it kills him. He loves you so much."

"And I love him but he can't understand why I need to do this. Sara gets it you get it and even Nick gets it but Warrick is another thing entirely."

Grissom let out a heavy sigh as Catherine finally tore her gaze from the sky line and turned back to the truck, putting her gear in the back.

"It's different when the someone who's falling is someone you love. You just need to be careful with this ok?"

Catherine nodded as she took her seat beside Grissom in the truck as they headed back to the lab. She knew that she needed to be careful. She already could feel herself slipping away with this case.

Sara was still trying to process the large list of names that were still left, but today she had used her logic and brought her CD player in with her, the music was loud and booming, making sure she stayed awake. She kept her eyes trained on the computer screen, her head bopping slightly to The Smashing Pumpkins track that was playing, her fingers dancing lightly over the keyboard. She jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder, turned to see a very tired looking Warrick standing behind her. She took off her headphones, offering him a small smile.

"Hey warrick. Did you talk to Cath?"

Warrick nodded as he took a seat beside her, his eyes on the screen.

"Yeah I did. And it's exactly as I suspected, she's in too deep. Worse still is that there is nothing I can do for her."

Sara put a hand on Warrick's knee.

"Be there for her that's all you can do. I guess that means you didn't pop the question?"

Warrick shook his head.

"Nah I think I'll wait till this case is over before I do that. I do however need you to do something for me."

Sara nodded with a smile.

"Anything for my favourite CSI guy."

Warrick smiled back.

"And here I am thinking that was Grissom."

Sara punched him in the arm, a small laugh finding its way out of her chest. Warrick handed her a CD case, the CD catching the light sending rainbows of colour on the walls.

"I need you to listen to this and tell me what you think. Be honest ok? I'll bring you back a coffee in an hour."

Sara nodded as Warrick left the room, and feeling a little in the dark, Sara put the CD in the player and slipped on her headphones.

Catherine could see that Doc was talking, watched as his lips moved, forming and pushing words out of his mouth. She could see Grissom talking beside her; see his hands gesture to the body and to the x-rays on the wall next to them. But for the life of her, Catherine could not hear them. She didn't know what was happening and for some reason she didn't care. She was spacing out as she looked at the little body, knowing that she too had been raped, beaten and strangled. Dumped like a piece of trash, not a little girl that had been taken from her parents. That's why she didn't hear him call her name the first time, didn't hear it the second, only coming to when he shook her slightly, the sounds and smalls wrapping themselves around her again.

"Catherine, are you ok?"

Catherine nodded, not trusting herself to speak the lie. She was far from ok. She didn't know if she would ever be ok again. She turned away from the little girl.

"I'll go and get Greg Eden up for the ID."

Catherine turned on her heel before either man could comment, and walked briskly down the hall to the lab where she knew she would find both Greg and Eden. Neither of them was far from each others side lately, Greg always being found with Eden clutching at his hand or talking animatedly to him about her life before this. About her parents and her friends in Manila. It was fascinating to watch the pair of them together and Catherine could not help the new budding respect she felt for Greg. He had won over the little girl who had had so much mistrust in her life with nothing but the offer of friendship and honestly. Something that Greg had in spades.

"Hey Cath. What can we do you for?"

Greg looked up from the microscope that he was hidden behind, his pen poised over some paper. Eden looked over at Catherine with a shy smile and a little wave.

"Don't tell me you're making her into a scientist Greg."

Eden smiled as she nodded.

"Greg was teaching me about DNA. I want to be just like you guys when I grow up, putting all the bad guys behind bars."

Catherine smiled back at Eden's bright eyed hopefulness. She wanted to tell her not to do, to choose something that wouldn't kill a little more of her each day, tell her about how she would both love and hate the job and about how their will be days that you didn't want to be a CSI and that she could have a boring office job. A nice boring job. But Catherine just nodded.

"Good for you Eden. Eden do you remember Greg telling you about how we found another girl?"

The smile fell from the little girl's face as it became more serious.

"Yes and you want me to tell you who it is don't you?"

Catherine nodded.

"Can Greg come as well?"

Catherine nodded again.

"Of course. Greg do you want to take her?"  
Greg nodded as he passed Catherine, leaving her alone in the lab. Catherine settled herself on the closest seat, her thoughts running through her head again. It was almost as if there was no way to calm them, no one to stop the flow of awful images anymore. She could distract herself but it was always a short fix of peace before her thoughts came pounding again. She had never done this before, fallen so far into a case, fallen so hard that she was losing herself.

"Hey Babe. How are you?"

Warrick's arms came around her waist, his face finding her neck.

"I could do with a hug."

Warrick pulled her up from her seat and pulled her tightly against him. Catherine breathed deeply, trying to take some of the Warrick like calm into herself, trying to steady her pounding heart.

"Jeez Cath, you're shaking. Are you ok?"

Catherine said nothing, just continued to clutch at Warrick, trying to anchor herself with him, next to him. He didn't question her any further, just held her tightly against his chest, his hand stroking her hair gently. He wanted to take her away from all of this, take her to someplace where she would be happy again. Catherine was a waif of her formal self and not only could he see it he could feel it. Catherine was never a very dependant woman, more then happy to take care of herself, and Warrick loved that about her. He liked just how much she had worked for that independence. But since this case started, she had become more clingy. Not in the bad I'm-crazy-and-I'm-stalking-you kind of way but more her need for physical affection. She had also started to neglect herself physically, not eating when she should, not caring if she had the same clothes on for three days at a time and her perfectly done hair and manicured nails were gone, replaced by chipped polish and her hair pulled into a tight ponytail. He missed the Catherine that he had fallen in love with.

"You need to go home and get some sleep."

Catherine shook her head against his chest but stayed where she was. Warrick continued to stroke her hair and waited for her overly tense body to relax against his.

When Warrick came back into the computer room to see Sara, he had to laugh. Despite the loud music and the large cups of coffee she had been supplied, Sara had fallen asleep. Her head was slumped over her arms, which were rested on the desk to the side of the computer. He had to take his hat off to her because as he got closer he saw that she had gone from a list of two hundred and narrowed it down to just ten names. Her head phones had fallen off of her head and Warrick leaned forward a little.

"Sara."

She didn't stir, and Warrick combined his voice with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Sara."

This time she let out a little moan and opened her eyes.

"Hey Warrick. I must have dozed off."

Sara sat up a little straighter and stretched her arms above her head.

"I narrowed it down to ten."

Warrick put a hand on her shoulder.

"Good work, Grissom will be pleased. You need to get some rest."

Sara shook her head as she hit print and waited for the printer to spit out the paper.

"Nope. Cath needs this case to be over and so does Eden and any other little girls he has."

Warrick sat down beside her.

"Did anyone tell you that they found another body?"

Sara froze before cursing under her breath. She slumped back into her seat, her hand pushing her hair from her face.

"Is Cath ok?"

Warrick shook his head.

"She's getting worse. We really need to find this prick before I lose her forever."

Sara waved the list of names in front of him.

"He's somewhere on this list and we'll find him, I promise. I listened to that CD you gave me. Did you write that music?"

Warrick nodded.

"Yeah. I wrote those songs for Cath. I finally got a friend of mine to let me into his studio to record them properly. What do you think?"

Sara smiled at him.

"Put it this way. If she says no to marrying you after listening to that CD, then she's not as smart as I gave her credit for. Now are you coming with me to give Grissom the good news or not?"

And the two friends left the computer lab with slightly lighter steps, hoping that they could solve this tragedy before any other girls died. Three bodies were more then enough as far as they were concerned.

Grissom saw them coming, he wasn't doing the paperwork he should have been, his thoughts on something else entirely. He knew the news had to be good, because both of them had a bit of kick to their steps, and Sara was just about running down the corridor.

"We got it down to ten names Grissom."

Grissom broke into a small smile of praise for Sara.

"Well done. Did you want to go with Brass to check them all out?"

Sara nodded as she left the office, her cell phone already open to dial for Brass. Warrick took a seat across from Grissom, his body slightly more relaxed.

"We're making movement on this case finally. Sara worked hard to get those names."

Grissom nodded.

"I know, she did great. How's Cath?"

"She'll be better if this guy was off the street."

Grissom smiled a little.

"Well thanks to Sara's hard work, we might have him sooner then we think. Now it's up to Brass."

"Did you ID the other girl?"

Grissom nodded.

"Her name was Anna Cole. She died approximately twenty four hours ago and she was the same as the other girls. She was so badly bettered that her jaw was dislocated and five of her ten fingers broken. He's getting much more aggressive and confident. This one wasn't buried it was in a dumpster."

Warrick said nothing, the sadness heavy in his chest. Too many children were dying just so this man could get his rocks off. He had to remind himself to wait. Soon was never soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three – Living On A Prayer

Sara sat heavily in the seat that she had claimed at Grissom's, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She and Brass had been out most of the night tracking down each one of the men on the list that Sara had printed out but to no avail. Nothing had stood out about none of the suspects and Sara was nearing the end of her energy store.

"One double screwdriver and buttered olive bread roll."

Grissom handed Sara her lunch, watching helplessly as she nodded her thanks and put the food down in front of her on the table.

"You have to eat Sara."

"I also have an electricity bill to pay but that won't be happening anytime soon either."

Sara sat back further into the seat, her legs folded neatly beneath her.

"I know he's on that list Grissom."

Grissom nodded as he settled himself in a seat with his own lunch.

"I know that too but we really need to narrow it down."

Sara narrowed her eyes.

"What about the piece of plastic?"

Grissom shook his head.

"Just a regular run of the mill shower curtain corner, one that thousands of people have brought. One needle in a very large haystack. We need to get Greg to question Eden more. Now that she's relaxed, she might open up a little more."

Sara swallowed a yawn that threatened to overtake her, shaking her head slightly.

"Poor kid. Have they found any of her family?"

"Sadly enough, no. There are no other known relatives and no one is willing to take her in over there. She has officially become part of the wonderful social services system. As for right this second, it's impossible to tear her away from Greg."

Sara smiled a little.

"It's cute though. I don't think Greg has ever had a girl quite so enamoured with him before."

"Well hopefully it will give him a chance to get more information."

Silence fell as Grissom started to eat his lunch and Sara sipped at her screwdriver, her mind wondering. The sooner they got this guy off the street the better for everyone, including Catherine.

"The pearl you found on little Alexis? It was real."

Grissom looked over at Greg who had just burst into the room, followed by his shadow Eden. She didn't invade the room but stood more off side, as if she was scared what would happen if she stepped further inside.

"Why did the results take so long? It's been days."

Greg sighed.

"Because Grissom, I have many talents but pearls is not one of them. I had to send it to be evaluated by a professional and guess what? I found skin inside the pearl."

"And it was Ivy's we already know that."

Greg shook his head as a smile came over his face.

"It was female but not Ivy's. I ran it through the system, it was an unknown but we know have something to compare the suspects too. Were any of them married?"

Grissom shrugged.

"You would have to see Sara for that. Good work by the way. Can I talk to you for a second?"

Greg nodded as he took a seat across from Grissom, Eden standing behind him, looking at Grissom with those huge earnest brown eyes.

"Eden do you think that you could go and get a soda from the machine? I need to talk to Greg privately."

Eden took the dollar that Grissom offered, saying a quite thankyou before leaving the two men alone.

"Greg I need you to question her more about the man."

Greg frowned.

"I've pushed quite far with what happened Grissom. If I push to hard she might clam up."

Grissom shook his head.

"We don't have many options open to us Greg and she's the best thing we have going for this case. You need to push because you are the only one she will talk to freely. We need that. We don't need to do this in an interview setting just keep track of what she says and get back to me ok?"

Greg nodded as Eden re-entered the room, a sweating can of soda in her hand. Greg gave Grissom a small smile.

"I'll go ask Sara about her suspects. I'll get back to you if anything comes up ok?"

Grissom nodded as he watched the pair leave the room, hoping that Eden was strong enough to cope with what needed to be done.

**_He hit her again and again, watching as he blood dripped onto his shoes, the anger boiling again. He hit her until she stopped begging, until she stopped moving. He threw her back in with the others and went back up into the main part of the house, the anger still boiling in his veins. After the little bitch had gotten away, he thought that there was nothing they could do to find him so he had continued on his way as normal. Then they had turned up at his door. A tall bitch and a fat cop, asking if he owned a Hypnic mask. He had said yes, keeping his wits about him, making sure he remained calm and let nothing show. The woman had passed a critical eye over him, and it took everything in his strength not to lash out at the know all bitch. She knew too much, he could see that she knew more then she was letting on. It took quite a while before they were satisfied enough to leave and he had come right back down here and taken his anger out on the one thing that didn't matter, his girls. He heard his wife calling and he quickly changed. That was another know it all bitch that had to go. She had almost found his room, and he was certain she had heard the girls calling. He had to sort out that problem before she ruined all of his fun._**

Sara sat across from her first official suspect since they had started up this case, examining him silently as he sipped the water she had placed in front of him calmly. He hardly looked like a killer, but that hardly mattered as Sara had learnt over the years that looks can be terribly deceiving. He wore a pin stripe business suit, his hair dark and slick and his eyes serious. Nothing was physically out of place with the man, even his suit looked like someone had ironed it on him. It all looked too perfect as far as Sara was concerned.

"Do you have a tattoo Mr. Broderick?"

The man frowned at her question.

"I don't believe that is any of your business Miss Sidle."

Sara matched his frown with a tight smile.

"I'm afraid it is when I'm investigating a series of murders. Do you or do you not have a tattoo?"

The man shook his head.

"No I don't. I don't believe in marking yourself in such a permanent manner. Why is it that I am a suspect?"

"Because out killer is married and owns a Hypnic mask and you fit the very limited profile."

Sara slid a warrant across the table and waited until he had read it before speaking again.

"So unless you're shy Mr. Broderick, drop your pants please."

Sara watched carefully as the man stood and did as he was told, the pants making a faint sound as the belt scraped across the floor. Sara snapped on her latex gloves and puled slightly on the pale skin of the man's inner thighs. She felt her heart sink when she found nothing but pink skin there.

"Thank you Mr. Broderick, you can pull up your pants now. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Sara smiled tightly as the man left the room. She marked his name off the list and let her head hang over the table. After this case, she was so taking a holiday.

Greg was still trying to figure out how to broach the subject of the man when Eden questioned him about it herself.

"You need more information don't you?"

Greg raised his eyebrow at the girl.

"And how, young lady, do you know that?"

Eden shrugged.

"I listened at the door after Mr. Grissom sent me out. I knew you were going to talk about me. Adults do that when they want to talk about kids."

Greg smiled at the girl.

"You're a smart one; I'm going to have to be more careful around you. And we do need more information from you. The mask and tattoo helped but we need something that is more individual to the man. Can you think of anything more?"

Eden closed her eyes, a small frown of concentration appearing on her brow.

"He was rich. His clothes were really soft and smooth, the kind that a lot of money can buy. Mama used to bring home clothes from the laundry mat where she worked and she showed me the rich man suits. He was a rich man. He's fat too, with short sausage fingers and he sweated a lot."

Eden opened her eyes, facing Greg.

"Does that help?"

Greg quickly made a mental not of Eden's description, smiling at the girl again.

"Yeah it does but promise me that if you remember anything else tell me or Mr.Grissom ok?"

Eden nodded solemnly, her face breaking into a bright smile.

"What are we going to do now?"

Greg was in the lab working when he heard a blood curdling scream come from Grissom's office. Greg ran down the hall to find Eden ion Sara's arms shaking like a leaf. Sara settled herself on the sofa with Eden, her eyes catching Greg's.

"I was walking past when I heard her scream. She was having a nightmare."

Greg knelt down, his hand on Eden's slim back.

"Hey Eden, are you ok?"

Eden shook her head against Sara's shoulder, keeping her face hidden from Greg. Sara stood up and offered Greg a small smile.

"I think me and Eden need some girl time. I'll go and take her to get freshened up ok?"

Greg nodded and watched them walk out the room, his heart somewhere near the region of his shoes. He couldn't save Eden from the demon that would haunt her for the rest of her life; he could only save her from him now, long after it was too late. And that made him feel more depressed then ever before.

"Here we go sweetheart."

Sara handed Eden a wet paper towel to clean off her face, watching as the girl scrubbed furiously at her now dry tears.

"I can't cry, I have to be brave."

Eden's voice was soft and determined, and Sara felt her heart go out to the girl. She knew what it was like to live with nightmares and the day horrors they could bring. Sara sat down next to the girl.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Eden's shoulders sagged and shake as the tears began again.

"He was raping me again. He was hitting me and putting himself inside of me and it hurt. I don't remember if I screamed, if I did anything to help myself. He was on me again and it stung because his sweat fell into my open cuts."

Eden's words broke off at that point and she collapsed into Sara's arms again. Sara did her best to comfort her, stroking her hair and whispering that it would be ok but she knew that it would be along time before Eden would be ok, if she ever would be ok.

"You know that it's ok to cry? You don't have to be brave all the time."

Eden shook her head, her tears making wet marks on Sara's shirt.

"I have to be brave. Greg, Mr. Grissom and all the girls need me to brave."

Sara pushed the hair out of the girl's eyes.

"I know for a fact that they would not think any less of you if you cried. Even I've cried in front of Mr. Grissom before. As for Greg, he's just worried about you."

Eden's looked at Sara, shock and surprise on her face.

"Why did you cry?"

Sara shrugged.

"I was having a really bad day. Now do you want to grab a shower and a change of clothes while we're here?"

Eden nod and gave Sara a smile.

"Thank you Sara"

Sara nodded.

"Not a problem Eden. Now let's get you in the shower ok?"

Eden nodded and stripped herself off and jumped into the closet stall, turning the shower on fall ball. Sara could not hide her shock as she took in Eden's slim body and the scattered bruising that were now a horrible yellow. Eden didn't seem to notice Sara as she washed her hair and body before turning the shower off and taking the towel that Sara offered her. She dressed quickly in more of Lindsey's old clothes, this time is was a pair of faded blue jeans and a dark green turtleneck.

"Want me to brush your hair?"

Eden nodded and Sara brushed her hair and put it in a braid down her back. Sara cleaned up the towels and the dirty clothes, hanging them in her locker to wash later before taking Eden back into the lab to talk to Greg.

Catherine just pushed the food around the plate, keeping her gaze away from Warrick's. She didn't need him to ask her how she was, to see her lie to his face.

"I've got something for you."

Warrick didn't move from his seat across from her, and Catherine risked raising her eyes to meet his. He was worried about her and he loved her. It was there in those beautiful eyes of his.

"What do you have for me?"

Warrick lifted a CD from under the table and Catherine watched as he got up from his seat and put the CD in the player. It was a piano playing softly, a beautiful gentle rhythm.

_The night can be long in Vegas,_

_Giving none mercy,_

_Offering no friendships,_

_And I was stuck there in the thick of it._

_I had nothing but darkness around me, _

_No hope to surround me_

_But then I saw you_

_And saw my light enter my life._

_I didn't want to care,_

_I didn't want to love you_

_But you changed my life,_

_And now I know,_

_I will always need you here_

Catherine turned her eyes to Warrick the moment she heard his gentle voice on the CD, his words mingling softly with the piano in the back round. Her eyes stayed on his as the music and words continued.

_Life can be hard,_

_And you can fall so quickly_

_But you have become something more,_

_Something stronger then life,_

_You are my Kryptonite,_

_My biggest strength_

_I didn't want to care,_

_I didn't want to love you_

_But you changed my life_

_And now I know,_

_I need you here_

The beautiful piano music continued for a while longer and then ended. Another piece began to play but this one was without words, just the beautiful piano going up and down again and again.

"Dance with me."

Catherine said nothing as Warrick pulled her into his arms and they gently swayed across the living room floor, and for the first time in a long time, Catherine forgot everything except Warrick's arms around her and the soft piano music he had written for her.

Brass shook his head.

"There is no way I can get you a warrant based on this."

Sara looked at him with steely eyes.

"Why not?"

"Because there are nine different names here. You can't give me a list of characteristics that general and expect a judge to go for it."

Sara handed him another sheet of paper.

"Judge Milton, Juge Hunter and Judge Mitchell are the ones you need to approach. They are more then willing to give out warrants on child abuse cases. Talk to one of them and tell them exactly what's going on."

Sara turned on her heel and left Brass feeling slightly gob smacked. He had always made a point of staying away from Sara's wrath and now he landed himself right in it. Brass pulled out his phone and started to work on those warrant's before Sara came back.

Grissom was in his office when his beeper went off and, feeling a little confused, made his way to Doc's sanctuary.

"Hey Grissom. I want you to see this Jane Doe they brought in to me this morning"

Grissom was about to approach the table when Sara came bounding into the room.

"Hey Doc, what you got for me?"

So side by side they came to stand nest to the table, the woman laying pale and blonde beneath the stark white sheet.

"Meet your donor for that skin that was found in that pearl. I had Greg do a quick run through to see if my hunch was right. We still don't have a name, she's pretty clean system wise."

Sara smiled at Doc.

"Great. What can you tell us about her?"

Doc pointed to a ring tan on her left hand.

"She was married or recently divorced. She has not given birth but scarring on her uterus indicates an abortion. Other then the contents of her stomach, caviar and toast corners, there is nothing extraordinary about her. No scarring, no birth marks."

Sara moved closer to the body, a specimen jar in her hand.

"I'll just take a sample of that polish and try and track down what it is and where she got it done."

As Sara scraped at the woman's nails, Grissom turned his attention back to the woman's body.

"COD?"

Doc pulled back the sheet covering the body, pointing to her throat.

"Manuel strangulation and then he did this."

He pulled back the sheet completely revealing shallow, jagged stab wounds that littered the chest and stomach.

"He strangled her then stabbed her repeatedly. The wounds are all shallow and didn't cause much damage at all. They were made more out of frustration then anger."

Grissom took the paperwork that Doc handed him and nodded his thanks, leaving the room, Sara close on his heels.

"So we now have a little connection to this case. The question is whether she's the guy's wife or an innocent person who stumbled upon the tragedy."

Sara shrugged as they walked toward his office.

"She could have been both."

Grissom nodded as they entered his office and Grissom made them cups of tea while Sara settled herself in a seat across the desk. She enjoyed watching him like this, in his more natural environment away from people, with just his jarred specimens for company. He didn't relax all that much this time around though; Sara knew that this case was affecting him just as much as it was the others on the team. She also knew how worried he was about Catherine. She knew that their strong bond went a little bit beyond a normal friendship and he relied on Catherine more then he cared to say.

"I haven't seen Cath around today."

Grissom handed Sara a cup of tea as he took a seat.

"Warrick rung me earlier and I told him to keep her at home to rest. They need some time to themselves."

Sara added a sugar to her tea before sipping the strong hot brew.

"They're good for each other aren't they?"

Grissom nodded, a small smile coming to his face.

"Yeah they are. I honestly cannot remember the last time that Catherine was this happy."

"Warrick can't that damn goofy grin off his face. It's utterly disgusting really isn't it?"

Sara smiled slightly at Grissom as he nodded seriously.

"Yes, utterly digusting.. You should have seen Ecklie's face when they told him what was going on."

Sara put her tea down with a sigh.

"I would have given up a month's worth of wages to see that reaction."

Grissom raised an eyebrow.

"It was a classic reaction. Catherine and Ecklie were butting heads and Warrick was doing that calm thing he does so well. With that combination, Ecklie didn't stand a chance. I would feel sorry for him if I actually liked him."

Sara laughed as she finished her tea and stood.

'Yeah that's old news. I had better go and see what Greg has for me on the nail varnish front. See ya later."

And with a small wave, Sara left the room.

"Rambling Red. It is a shade used by upmarket salons, and produced by the cosmetics company called Katie Rose."

Greg handed Sara the slip of paper, one hand on his hip the other leaning on the table as she read.

"I prefer Petal Pink or Cinnimon Crème."

Sara raised an eyebrow at him.

"Greg you are very comfortable with your female side aren't you?"

Greg shrugged.

"I lived in a house fill of woman so I know things. I like your top by the way."

Sara smiled at the lab tech as she turned to head out the door.

"Page me with anything new, I have salons to track down."

Catherine woke up for the first time in a long time feeling totally and utterly refreshed. She stayed where she was in the bed, barely daring to move in fear of breaking the spell of peace that had wrapped itself around her. Last night dancing with Warrick, she realised she had hit the bottom of her sanity with this case. And she knew that after hitting the bottom, the only way left to go was back up. She needed to be at the top of her game for Eden and all the little girls that had suffered at the hands of this sicko. She had heard Warrick call Grissom and the idea of having a day with rest made her feel a little guilty but she needed it. It had been a long two months.

"You awake already?"

Warrick's voice was low and soft against her ear.

"You know we don't have work right?"

Catherine nodded as she turned and snuggeled against his chest.

"I heard you talking to Grissom. So what are we going to do with our free time?"

Warrick smiled his lazy grin.

"I moved the TV in here and the DVD player. And if you give me a couple of minutes, I'm going to make you breakfast in bed. Grissom said you have to relax and I'm going to listen to him."

Catherine nodded as she hugged him hard. She pulled Warrick closer to her as he made a move to leave the bed. She kissed him softly on the lips before moving to his neck, causing a deep rumble from his chest.

"Can I make a request?"

Warrick's voice was barely audible in her hair.

"And that would be?"

Catherine ran a hand down his stomach and back to his chest before kissing him again and smiling widely.

"Extra bacon and pulpy orange juice please."

Warrick laughed as he kissed her and pushed himself out of the bed.

"Tease. How do you want your eggs?"

"Poached would be good. Thanks baby."

Warrick gave Catherine a quick grin as he left the room and Catherine happily stretched in amoungest the warm blankets and fluffy pillows.

As Sara watched Catherine walk back into the lab, she could see the change in the woman. There was a bounce in her step and the determination was back in those blue eyes. And Sara had never been more happy to see the old Catherine back on track. She glanced at her friends left hand to see if she could spot the ring but the finger was bare. Warrick had yet to pop the question then.

'Hey Cath welcome back! How are you feeling?"

Catherine gave Sara bright smile.

"Great. I am more then ready to get back to work?"

Sara frowned.

"How come you're feeling so good?"

"Warrick and I talked last night and I realised that I hit rock bottom. This case needs me and I can't be distracted or feeling sorry for myself. So I did what I had to too make myself better?"

"And that was?"

Catherine listed them off her fingers one by one.

"Breakfast in bed, bad movies and lots of sex."

Sara pulled a face.

"That's a little too much information there. I'm glad you're you again though. I could do with some help."

Sara handed Catherine the file on their Jane Doe and waited until she had finished reading before continuing.

"I thought that since you get your nails done regularly you might be able to help me track down the right salon."

Catherine nodded as she crossed two or three names off the list.

"Those salons are a little down market for out lady. Lets go and check out these two and see what happens."


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N - This was one of the hardest stories to write. It was based on a true one that I read in the paper only all of the little gir;s died, all of them met a very disturbing end. I wanted to put a bit more of a positive spin on it. As disturbing as it was to write, i still enjoyed getting to explore the darker side of the Greg and the softer side of Catherine as well as the friendship between Sara and Grissom. I hope thatI suceeded in doing this. _

Chapter Four – A Girl Like You

Grissom didn't pay much attention as Sara and Catherine entered his office, not until Catherine spoke loudly as if he was senile and slightly deaf.

"Susan Fuller."

Catherine was smiling widely at Grissom, her face relaxed and excited.

"Susan Fuller is married to Cameron Fuller, one of the men on Sara's list."

Grissom took a moment to take in the power that came from the duo that was Catherine and Sara before standing and taking his coat off the back of his seat.

"I believe it's time to pay our friend another visit."

Sara, Grissom, Catherine, Warrick and Greg all poured out of the vehicle, nerves pulled taunt. The house looked like every other that was in the neighbourhood, but Sara still felt that sense of unease she had felt when she had visited the house days earlier. She knew now why she had felt so uneasy. Brass was standing at the front door, his voice low as he talked to the CSI's.

"I got one officer in the back, one on each side of the house and others up the street ready to come on my signal. Get your guns out and be careful ok?"

They pulled out their guns without question, each CSI understanding the danger they were in with a thoughtless killer such as Cameron Fuller. And as room was cleared one by one, they all began to breathe again. The house, despite being large and elaborately furnished, was devoid of any kind of real human touches. The house was spotlessly clean, not a magazine or pair of shoes out of place.

"Ok guys, it's all yours."

Brass lead the policemen out with him, leaving the CSI's to do what they did best, settling for waiting outside. It was Greg who noticed the loose floorboard first, jumping on it lightly, with one foot then the other.

"Hey Cath, check out this floorboard."

Catherine came to stand beside Greg, watching as he showed her the loose wood. She helped him move the heavy Oriental rug that lay over it, pausing when they uncovered a wooden trap door.

"Ready Greg?"

Greg nodded his gun at the ready. Catherine pulled open the door by the heavy brass latch and found herself faced with another trap door, this one heavy and metal with a solid lock on it.

"Get the cutters Greg."

Greg was back in moments, the heavy tool in his hands. He helped Catherine cut the lock before setting them aside and getting his gun out again as they made their way down the narrow stairway that the trapdoor had revealed.

"Hello? This is the police."

Catherine's voice seemed to echo on forever, bouncing off the walls and low ceiling. Soon the steps ended and they were faced with something they had never seen before. The walls were covered in blood, some of the original grey coming through in spots, but otherwise it was completely red. In the very furtherest corner of the room was a heavily barred cage and inside that was a small pile of bodies, no sound or no movement to be seen or heard.

"Get Brass to call in those Medics Greg. NOW!"

Greg took a second to move through his shock before he bounded back up the steps, leaving Catherine to try and process the horror herself. Soon the room was filled with people and the girls on their way to the hospital, all twelve of them in a critical condition. After all the excitement of finding the girls, Catherine let out the breath that she felt like she had been holding for the last week, before sitting hard on the bottom step, her shoulders slumped forward. Greg came to sit beside her, the shock coming off him in almost visible waves.

"How many years did he get away with this? How many girls screamed andwent unheard?"

Catherine's voice was scratchy and weak and it was too late by the time she realised she was crying, the tears rolling hard and fast down her cheeks. She knew they weren't tears for herself, for Eden or even for the girls they just saved, they were for the girls that went unheard, the ones who slipped away without anyone noticing.

"We saved them Cath. He will never be able to hurt them again."

Catherine felt Greg's arm rest over her shoulders, trying to comfort her.

"We have to catch him first Greg."

"And we will. If it takes days, months or years, we will."

Catherine nodded, feeling a little better and a little embarrassed. Someone clearing their throat drew Catherine and Greg's attention back to the top of the stairs where Sara stood.

"He's going back to Manilla, we have to move now if we want to get him."

Greg helped Catherine up with a warm hand and felt the adrenaline make its way back into his blood stream as they made their way to the airport.

Thanks to the picture that Sara handed out on the way over, Catherine's sharp eyes spotted Cameron Fuller right away, sitting waiting for his flight to board. She pointed him out to Greg before coming to sit beside the large man, her stomach in her throat over what he had done. He looked nothing like a killer but then again killers ever really did look like what they were. He had slicked back hair, beady brown eyes and a pinstripe suit, the sweat bouncing off the collar.

"I bet you have a tattoo."

Catherine kept her eyes on the planes that were gliding in and out of the airport effortlessly despite their impossibly large weights.

"How the hell is that any of your business? Who the hell do you think you are?"

The man's voice was angry and Catherine could see his fat fists clench at his sides. Catherine kept her voice low and cold as she responded.

"Don't talk to me like that you sick piece of shit."

Catherine turned cold blue eyes on the now surprised man, her voice maintaining the cold calm that it had adopted.

"We found Susan and the other girls."

The man moved much quicker then Catherine was prepared for, his hand coming to her face pushing hard so that she toppled over to the seat next to her, running for all his life was worth. Greg didn't pause to see how Catherine was, knew that he didn't have a second to waste as he bounded after the man. Despite his large size, Cameron Fuller moved quickly through the crowds of people, trying to get Greg off his back by throwing objects behind him as he ran. Greg, thanks to his youth and lack of girth, was able to dodge o jump over the objects easily and was soon close enough to Cameron to tackle him to the ground, the large man's face kissing the ground with a satisfying _crack. _With a strength he didn't know he possessed, Greg pulled the man from the ground and slammed him against the near by wall. Cameron struggled fiercely and Greg gave him a sharp kick to the shins, making the man howl with anger and struggle more. He tried to take a swing at Greg but thanks to the cut above his eyes, the blood was making it difficult for him to see and he missed by miles and Greg felt another wave of anger come over him. He took the hand that had held Eden's gently only hours earlier and wrapped it tightly around the bigger man's throat. Cameron stopped struggling as Greg's grip became ever tighter, making the man's eyes squint and bulge.

"What you don't know how to hit anything except little girls and woman? Well guess what? Where you are going, all those things you did too those girls will be done to you. You will get raped and beaten over and over again."

Greg kept his grip tight, feeling his fingers sink further and further into the man's extra chin flesh.

"Greg, let him go. We got you covered."

Greg heard every single gun cock and heard the reassuring clank of handcuffs but somehow could not bring himself to let the man go.

"He was resisting arrest, I had to contain him."

Catherine's voice was in his ear, her hand lightly on his shoulder.

"We know and not one person will argue with that. Let him go so he can go to jail."

Greg peeled his fingers back slowly, watching as the man flopped on the floor weak from the lack of oxygen. He felt Catherine turn him away as police officers dragged Cameron roughly off the ground, felt her turn him into a quite corner away from the action and excitement. Catherine's hair was a little mussed but otherwise she looked none the worse from her encounter with Cameron, and Greg felt the anger slowly seep from him. It was then that he noticed the sore knees from tackling Cameron and the aching wrist and hand.

"You ok?"

Catherine's eyes were searching his, trying to gauge how he was. Greg nodded slowly, already feeling better but still surprised at the anger that had pushed him so far.

"I could not believe the anger I felt."

Catherine clasped his hand in her own, her face concerned.

"I know but you're back right?"

Greg nodded again, smiling as Catherine slung an arm over his shoulder.

"Good because we have a scene to process and histories to get on all those girls. After tonight, there is going to be a line of people wanting to buy you a drink."

Sara stood on the other side of the interview room, not quite able to bring herself to share the same breathing space as Cameron Fuller. Grissom had volunteered to do the interview and so he sat, his normally controlled self, across from Fuller, his hands flat against the table, the file open in front of him. Sara didn't have to see his face to know that anger and disgust dwelled in his blue eyes and that he had forced himself to leave it at the door for the sake of the case.

"So Mr Fuller, care to give us the small nitty gritty details?"

The man shrugged.

"You seem to know it all already."

Grissom shrugged back.

"I would rather hear it from you then the evidence."

The man sighed and Grissom opened the file in front of him.

"How about we start at the beginning?"

The man said nothing, continuing to watch Grissom with his beady eyes.

"How long have you been bringing girls over from Manilla?"

"About five years"

"And how many of those girl's parents did you kill?"

"Three."

"How many girls have you killed?"

This time the man paused and Sara could see him counting on his fingers.

"Fifteen."

"Where are their bodies?"

"All over the Nevada desert."

Grissom made a quick note in the file before continuing.

"I suppose I should ask why"

The man studied Grissom again before responding.

"How many times have you asked that question and understood the answer?"

"Not many but I'm learning."

The man glanced at his wedding ring before he spoke.

"I never loved Susan, just tolerated her. Used her as a happy marriage front I guess. When I went to Manilla I went to a brothel that I had heard about and I was expecting woman, I really was."

Cameron's voice was almost pleading, asking Grissom to believe him but when the man in question said nothing, Cameron continued.

"They paraded these young girls around saying that their virginity would give their lover luck and good fortune. I brought one and the rest is history. I realised quite by accident how easy it was to bring them over here. It was all about greasing the right palms."

"Why did you kill your wife?"

The man sighed, shaking his head.

"She found the doors to the room and she asked me what was going on. I told her then I killed her. Unfortunate really."

"What is bugging me is why we found a pearl with one of the bodies."

"Oh that little shit? Well she tried to escape but got distracted by a set of Susan's pearls. I choked her with them before getting rid of the body."

Sara switched off the speaker at that point; she didn't want to hear anymore. She had more then enough to keep her up at night for the next few weeks. The only thing that brought a smile to her face was the memory of lanky Greg pining the man by the throat to the wall, bringing the much bigger man under his control as the suspect had done with the little girls.

Greg looked at the extensive list of names before him and sighed heavily. Of the twelve girls they had rescued, two were orphans, three had died and one was now in a severe vegetative state thanks to Cameron's beatings. As for the others, physically they would be ok, mentally, who knew.

"So Eden's gone huh?"

Sara stood in the doorway, her shoulder leaning against the frame, a sympathetic smile on her face. Greg sat heavily in his chair, nodding as he put his pen down.

"Yeah she's gone. She was fine once I told her we finally caught him. I'm going to miss my little shadow."

Sara came to sit next to Greg.

"You were amazing out there."

Greg shook his head.

"No I wasn't. I lost control."

"You were in more control then I would have been. I would have quite happily castrated the sick freak."

Greg pulled a face and crossed his legs, causing Sara to laugh.

"It's over now. Cameron is faced with so many charges that there is no way he will never ever see the light of day again."

Greg nodded and together they began to work through the list of names.

"They started a special case file called Operation Ruby to try and track down all the other bodies of the missing girls. They have already found four."

Catherine's eyes sparkled over her glass of Merlot, her smile bright from the two before.

"And Eden was placed with a great foster family"

Sara raised her glass of gin and tonic.

"And Cameron is finally behind bars."

Grissom raise his scotch and gently tapped it against Sara's.

"Here's to us."

Warrick raised his beer, lowering it again as Greg shook his head.

"Here's to all the girls, found and lost."

And so the team clanked glasses as the alcohol continued to flow.

"Warrick asked me to marry him."

The room let out a collective sigh of relief as Sara laughed.

"Finally! We've been waiting weeks."

Catherine continued to smile, her eyes half on Warrick and half on her ring.

"Yeah well at least it's finally happened. I'm getting married!"

Catherine sat on the sofa, Warrick next to her as they did that so-in-love-they-glow thing they did so well. Grissom glanced at Sara, his handsome face pulled into a disapproving frown and Sara pulled a face back, earning herself a broad grin. Everything was back to normal again.

"Greg you have visitors."

Jill, the lab receptionist, didn't wait for an answer as she led in the three visitors. It took Greg a second to realise who was standing before him; she had changed a lot in just two months.

"Eden."

Eden ran across the small room and threw her arms around Greg's neck and held on tight, pulling back only after she was done hugging him hard. Greg studied her and was satisfied with how she looked. Her hair was longer, the soft strands almost now to her waist, she had put on some much needed weight and for the first time in the time since Greg had met her, she looked happy.

"Amanda and Kevin, my foster parents, wanted to meet you."

Eden dragged Greg over by his hand to the couple that stood in the door way of the break room before she broke away and turned her affection to the other scientists in the room. Amanda was tall and slim with long blonde hair and narrow cheekbones. Kevin was shorter then his wife and a lot bulkier with dark hair and eyes. Greg extended a hand and a smile to the pair.

"Greg Sanders at your service."

Amanda ignored his hand and pulled him into a tight hug. When she pulled back she had tears in her eyes.

"Thank you for looking after her before she found us. We don't know what we would do without her."

Kevin took Greg's hand in a strong shake, a wide smile on his face.

"Thank you. We will forever be in your debt."

Greg, not used to the attention, blushed slightly under their gratefulness.

"She looked after herself really. How is she doing?"

Kevin's eyes followed Eden as she pulled Grissom into a tight hug.

"She's ok. Still suffers from nightmares and she goes to counselling twice a week. But she's stronger then she looks that's for sure."

Greg indicated the rest of the team with a slight nod of his head.

"Finding her was a team effort. I wasn't the only one looking after her."

Kevin nodded as his eyes locked with Greg's.

"Maybe but you made an impression on a scared little girl. She wants to be a scientist now."

Greg cocked his eyebrow.

"Really?"

Kevin nodded.

"Yeah she does. She's in the top 2 in the school and after an argument with her teacher, managed to lecture her science class on DNA. Whatever you did with her while she was here, it helped her heaps. She's a smart girl."

Greg smiled.

"Yeah she is. She's a lot happier then the last time I saw her. You've looked after her well."

Amanda shrugged.

"We love her, so it's easy."

Eden arrived back at Amanda's side, her hand finding her foster mothers.

"Can we come back next week when all the papers are signed?'

Kevin stroked Eden's head as he spoke to Greg.

"We become her parents officially next Tuesday; they just want to make sure there are no possible relatives overseas that want her."

Greg smiled widely at Eden as he knelt down to hug her again.

"I would love another visit. All of us should go out to dinner sometime huh?"

Eden nodded as she gave Greg another hug satisfied with his response.

"Thank you for looking after me while the bad man was out there."

Greg kissed the top of her head.

"Anytime Eden, anytime."

After many more farewells and promises to catch up again soon, the small family made their way down the hall and Greg returned to his seat next to Sara.

"Alls well that ends well huh? At least Eden got her happy ending."

Greg smiled as he felt a wave of happiness come over him.

"Yeah she did."


End file.
